In a statement, he said these healthcare facilities must report positive cases through the public health laboratory information system (Simka) on the same day they are detected.

This comes after the nation recorded another record high of 5,725 Covid-19 cases yesterday, with Selangor recording the highest number of infections with 3,126.

Amirudin said the state health department explained that the spike in cases yesterday was due to a backlog of cases from the screening of factory workers, screenings in prisons and also screenings in clinics and private hospitals that were not reported directly or in “real-time”.

He said the state government had identified factories in the state as the main outbreak areas, adding that it will implement a Preventing Outbreak at Ignition Site (POIS) programme for this.

“POIS is a screening programme in all factories and workplaces that have the potential of creating clusters and outbreaks. This is to break the chain of infection and prevent clusters at workplaces.

“POIS will be carried out by the state health department, Selgate Corporation Sdn Bhd, all local councils and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM),” he added.